Breaking: Iran, P5+1 Reach Deal on Nuclear Program

A deal at last. An interim deal that still has to be finalized, but nevertheless, this is another setback for warmongers in both Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as hawks who have long occupied Western capitals. The anticipated easing of sanctions which have strangled Iran for far too long is another huge dividend of this agreement.

Let’s hope this development also puts an end to the crude Iranophobic “Mad Mullah” propaganda that has been circulating for years:

When the devout are committed to carrying out God’s will (e.g., destruction of the “Great Satan”), they are not easily dissuaded, even by severe economic sanctions. Rohani is a Khamenei-endorsed cleric, a messianist, and the president of an Islamist-supremacist regime. To the secular, his religious motivations may seem incidental — Rohani’s avuncular smile and fluent English may make him appear moderate, but his religious commitment to harm Israel and the West is no such thing.

Clearly Iranian leaders were eager to strike a deal, and have never had any intention of committing national suicide on the alter of some diabolical messianic “Islamist-supremacist” plot. That propaganda line was ridiculous to start with, and should now be relegated to the historical dustbin, where it belongs.

Regardless of whether the deal seems entirely fair to one side or the other, this is still welcome news. It’s a victory for peaceful negotiations, and the rejection of war. Let’s hope it’s also the start of a thaw between Iran and the world powers, after decades of mutual mistrust.

Of course, this news is all over the media. I’m adding it here in case anyone missed it, and so people can discuss this development, if they wish.

The first confirmation came shortly after 3 AM on Sunday morning Geneva time, when French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced that the P5+1 talks with Iran had concluded, and an interim deal has been reached on Iran’s civilian nuclear program. Other P5+1 leaders, including President Obama, have since confirmed it.

Full details of the final pact are still not a matter of public record, but are said to include a halt of 20 percent enrichment, continue enrichment at 3.5 percent, and $4.2 billion in Iranian assets will be unfrozen, along with unspecified easing to sanctions. Comments throughout the pact few weeks suggested that most of the deal was already finalized, and it was only a few minor issues of wording that had yet to be settled.

Interestingly, Iran and the US are disputing what the pact says about Iran’s right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, as Iran insists the deal does grant that right, but the White House has claimed it does not.

The Saturday talks never ended, but continued overnight into Sunday before the pact was reached. It is intended to cover six months, involving some limitations to Iran’s civilian enrichment of uranium and other aspects of its program in return for sanctions relief.

The six months is intended to give both sides time to work out a permanent agreement on ending the sanctions as well as international complaints about the nuclear program.